Whitehaven have had five applications for their coaching position which will become vacant at the end of the season.

The board met last night to consider the CVs which have already been received and, later in the week, will start to draw up a short list.

Four of the applications received so far are from candidates outside the county, at least one of them with Super League connections.

Whitehaven were told two weeks ago that coach James Coyle would be standing down at the end of the season because of increased work and family commitments.

Since then the team has lost heavily at Bradford and then lost in the closing seconds after a dramatic derby clash with Workington Town.

Chairman Tommy Todd said: “I’ve been asked if James’ decision to make his decision known at this stage will have affected the team’s performances.

“That’s hard to say but I think from a personal point of view I would have preferred it if James had made it known at the end of the season and not before.”

From third-bottom, Haven have now slipped into the relegation drop zone, three points from safety, and are now only two points ahead of neighbours Workington Town who have been bottom virtually all season.

“It was very disappointing to lose the derby game, especially when Town played with 12 men for so long,” he added.

“When we scored to go ahead with three minutes left I thought we should have had enough about us to close the game down and see it through to the final hooter.

“But credit to Town. Even with 12 men they seemed to want it more than we did and kept going right to the end, getting the result they wanted in the process,” said Todd.

By a remarkable coincidence the bottom-four meet up at the weekend in the final round of regular Championship matches before the Super Eights.

Fourth-bottom Sheffield visit Whitehaven on Saturday night (6.30pm ko), while third-bottom Oldham host Town on Sunday afternoon (3pm ko).

Those two fixtures will be repeated (although possibly with venues reversed) in the final set of seven games, while Haven and Town are also gearing-up for another clash before it’s all over.